Good Governing? There's an App for That

March 29, 2010— -- Thanks to the wonders of mobile technology, smart phones can help people fall asleep, hang pictures straight and even learn how to play a guitar. Now, smart phones can fix potholes.

Well, close.

In some cities, citizens can now report potholes, graffiti and other issues directly to their city with their smart phones. After being downloaded onto a smart phone, the software -- commonly referred to as "applications" or "apps" -- allows a citizen to take pictures of a problem and with a click of a button, e-mail it directly to city officials with the exact coordinates of where the picture was taken.

This contrasts with the more traditional way of reporting issues, via a city's Web site or by calling a non-emergency city service line.

"People love it, citizens are just giving us the thumbs up," said city project manager Rick Nixon for the city of Portland, Ore., which has recently released mobile software that allows citizens to request service on public infrastructure such as park equipment, street lights, potholes, sewer catch basins and graffiti, and have the problem fixed within 24 to 48 hours.

Before, Nixon said, if citizens saw an issue, they would have to go back home, look for the correct number to call, describe over the phone what the issue was and where it was, or fill out a long, cumbersome form via Web site. And often, he said, by the time they got back home to report the issues, they would forget exactly what the issue was, or where it was located.

Now, he said, there are less barriers to reporting issues to the city.

"It's been very well-received, maybe too well. The amount of incoming traffic has been pretty immense, there are a lot of iPhone users," said Nixon. "They're still figuring the best way to handle increased traffic."

Los Angeles Councilmember Paul Krekorian's office is rolling out an iPhone app with the same functionalities in April.

"It will speed up the delivery of constituent services and create a new vehicle of communication to make government more transparent and open to our constituents," Krekorian said.

Both Portland's and Krekorian's mobile software were developed in-house and will be made available to citizens for free. While the software will not generate revenue for the city, they have tremendous value for city officials, says Brent Blackaby, an online political strategist.

Mobile software can help keep a constituency engaged during an official's elected term without breaching that "firewall" between the official-side and the campaign-side, said Blackaby, whose firm Trilogy Interactive helps manage online communications for Democratic candidates.

"What we're trying to do, while someone is still in office, is to communicate with the people that support them all the good things that the elected official is doing so that people are still connected and still in the loop with what's happening," Blackaby said.

"And then when it comes time for campaign season to begin again, you've got a strong base of support and a strong team of people online, you have grassroots support behind you, that you've continued to build and grow and hopefully over time," said Blackaby, whose team has worked on online campaign communications for a handful of Democratic senators including California Sen. Barbara Boxer and New York Sen. Charles Schumer, as well as Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry and Wesley Clark.

"They need to feel like their part of your campaign, they're part of your organization, they're part of your success, and keeping them connected with what you're working on in elected offices i think is a critical part of that," Blackaby said.